Hosea 11:5-11

5 They will return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria will be their king, because they have refused to return to me.6 The sword will strike wildly in their cities; it will consume the bars of their gates and will take everything because of their schemes.7 My people are bent on turning away from me; and though they cry out to the Most High, he will not raise them up.8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart winces within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.9 I won’t act on the heat of my anger; I won’t return to destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a human being, the holy one in your midst; I won’t come in harsh judgment.10 They will walk after the LORD, who roars like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.11 They will come trembling like a bird, and like a dove from the land of Assyria; and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD.

Our vision of God as judge, dispenser of punishment, often conflicts with our view of God as Father, dispensing grace with mercy new every morning. We often create God in our own image, shaped by our experiences, to be either a divine Santa Claus waiting to fulfill all of our...

Heavenly Father, help me to see justice and mercy as partners that move me to holiness of heart and life. Amen.

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The Hosea passage portrays the agony of God, who is torn between the demands of judgment and of grace. When justice and grace are weighed in God’s balances, grace always prevails. Psalm 107’s language applies to many experiences of alienation. Lostness, hunger, thirst, and weariness characterize the condition of those cut off from God; yet if they seem abandoned, they are not. God has guided them out of the desert and back to their homes once again. The freedom to live in goodness is the subject of Colossians. The passage points read- ers beyond “things that are on earth” to “things that are above.” Freedom from greed is the focus of Luke 12:13-21, a text that addresses the dif cult issue of how the Christian is to deny the temptations of materialism while living in a very material world. The farmer is not condemned because he worked to produce a bumper crop, but his demise is viewed as tragic because he wrongly believed that his bulging barns would be his salvation.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

• Read Hosea 11:1-11. God’s constant love, mercy, and grace allow for transformation. What would it be like if our sys- tems employed a justice designed to transform?
• Read Psalm 107:1-9, 43. From what captivity has God redeemed you?
• Read Colossians 3:1-11. What do you need to take away from your life in order to clothe yourself with the practices that re ect the image of God?
• Read Luke 12:13-21. How can you feel more satis ed with what you have? How will this allow you to share more with others?